Chapter 4: The Blood Price of Freedom
The three moons of Crimson Sky Realm cast silver shadows across the Seraphic Blade Sect's peaks as Alex, Xianling, and a trembling Mei Ling emerged from the ventilation shaft. The night air tasted of ozone and iron—the scent of the sect's perpetual killing intent. Mei Ling clutched the Li Clan shadow token like a drowning woman clutches driftwood, her scar pale against her ashen face.
"I..." she began, then stopped. Her eyes flickered between Alex's calm expression and Xianling's unreadable one. "I need to go. Before they realize I'm missing from my bunk."
"Go," Alex said softly. He didn't use his Sovereign's voice—he used the voice of a boy who understood fear. "Take the western path. There's a blind spot in the outer courtyard patrols near the refuse pits. The token will mask your qi signature for another hour."
She nodded, backed away, then ran. Her footsteps faded into the darkness, and Alex felt the microscopic marker he'd placed on her soul flare to life. Not a leash. A lifeline. If the sect hunted her, he would know. If she betrayed them... well. He had been merciful once today already.
Xianling watched her go. "You should have killed her. Weakness like that is a liability."
"She's not weak. She's human." Alex brushed dust from his robes, the motion habitual despite his robes being spotless. The system's passive cleaning function, most likely. "Something you and I forgot how to be."
The Starfall Empress snorted. "Sentimental."
"Strategic. A terrified ally is a predictable one. A grateful one is creative." He turned to face her fully, his golden core cultivation hidden beneath layers of false aura showing only Foundation Establishing. "Now. About your 'test.'"
She met his gaze without flinching. "I needed to know if you were still the Void Emperor, or if rebirth had made you soft."
"And your conclusion?"
"You hesitated." Xianling's smile was sharp as shattered glass. "For exactly 0.3 seconds, when you realized I might have actually betrayed you. The old Xaelinth would have killed me instantly and fled. Alex Chen wanted to trust me. The result was... murky. I don't know which one I'm dealing with."
"Good." Alex started walking toward the outer disciple quarters, not looking back. "That means my enemies won't either."
Nebula stirred in his system inventory, a warm presence curled around his golden core. The bond was still new, still settling. Alex could feel the wyrmling's hunger—an appetite for spiritual energy that would soon become problematic. A Golden Core cultivator could sustain a Void Wyrmling hatchling, but barely. When Nebula grew...
One problem at a time.
Back in his quarters—a four-man room he somehow still occupied alone, thanks to Social Cloaking making him invisible to_assignment algorithms—Alex accessed the system interface.
[Current Status: Golden Core (Perfection - 87%)]
[Next Realm: Soul Formation (Estimated Time: 14 days at current absorption rate)]
[Destiny Points: 342]
[System Evolution: 6/10]
[Companions: Void Wyrmling "Nebula" (Growth Stage 1/10)]
[Active Quests: The Starfall Empress (87 days remaining), The Azure Phoenix's Secret (Incomplete), The Soul Prisoner's Bargain (New)]
The Soul Prisoner's Bargain. Alex examined the quest details. The entity in the Dead Caverns—he needed a name for it, something other than "it"—had offered knowledge of the Soul Formation Realm in exchange for the Death Peak Lord's blood. But blood alone wouldn't be enough. The system analysis suggested the seal was anchored by bloodline, yes, but also by karma and intent.
The Death Peak Lord, according to Shadow Garden intelligence, was a man named Feng Du. Golden Core Perfection, one foot in Soul Formation. A direct descendant of the sect's founder, and a man who enjoyed his banquets a bit too much. He hosted them monthly for inner disciples, a display of power and largesse that also served as a recruitment tool for his personal faction.
Tomorrow night's banquet would have over a hundred attendees. Perfect for anonymity. Perfect for theft.
But not just theft. Alex's three-soul mind was already spinning webs within webs. The blood was the price. But what if he could take more? What if he could take a blood oath, a fragment of karma, a sliver of destiny?
The system pinged with interest, offering a new option:
[Divine Art Available: Karma Stitching (300 DP)]
[Description: Allows Host to splice fragments of destiny onto self. High risk. Requires direct physical contact and vulnerable target.]
Expensive. But if it worked, he wouldn't just free the Soul Prisoner. He would inherit its connection to the Death Peak, its ancient grudge, its purpose. In a sect built on killing intent, purpose was power.
Alex purchased it without hesitation. His Destiny Points dropped to 42.
For the next day, he played the model outer disciple. He swept courtyards, carried water, polished blades in the Armory Hall. No one spoke to him. No one noticed him. He was the perfect ghost.
His Shadow Garden, however, was busy.
Through Mei Ling, he learned the banquet's layout. Through the herb-sensing boy—now identified as Lin, a quiet youth with a gift for finding what shouldn't exist—he acquired a rare toxin called Dreamer's Draught. Odorless, tasteless, and to a Golden Core cultivator, it did nothing but cause a momentary lapse in spiritual focus. A heartbeat's vulnerability.
Through the poison expert, a girl named Zhen who smiled too wide and never slept, he learned Feng Du's drinking habits. The man favored a specific wine, Blood Peach Blossom, imported at great expense. He always poured his own first cup, a paranoid habit from his days as an outer disciple.
Paranoia leaves patterns. Patterns are vulnerability.
The banquet arrived. Alex wore his plainest robes, the ones that marked him as too poor to afford better. Nebula stayed in the inventory, though Alex could feel the wyrmling's excitement. The creature liked hunting.
Inner disciples filled the Death Peak's great hall, a cavernous space of black marble and crimson banners. Feng Du sat on a dais at the far end, a bear of a man with a laugh that echoed off the walls. Golden Core Perfection radiated from him like heat from a furnace.
Alex positioned himself near the wine servants' entrance. He didn't need to get close to Feng Du. He just needed to be close to the wine.
When the Blood Peach Blossom arrived in its jade decanter, Alex used Void Step. A flicker. Less than a breath. He phased through space, his hand passing through the decanter's side, depositing the Dreamer's Draught, and retreating before even the Golden Core servers noticed the temperature fluctuation.
Three seconds of phasing. Used.
He retreated to a shadowed corner and waited.
Feng Du poured his wine with flourish, laughing at some inner disciple's flattery. He drank. The Dreamer's Draught hit immediately—a flicker in his golden core's rotation, a moment where his spiritual defenses lowered to Foundation Establishing levels.
The system screamed a countdown: NOW. 3... 2...
Alex didn't move. Not yet. Instead, he sent a single mental command to Nebula.
The Void Wyrmling appeared in the hall's rafters, visible only to Alex through their bond. It opened its mouth—not to roar, but to inhale. Void energy swept through the hall like a silent wind, and every single candle, lantern, and light source winked out simultaneously.
Darkness. Chaos. Cultivators reaching for weapons.
And in that darkness, Alex Void Stepped again.
He materialized behind Feng Du's dais, his hand pressed to the Peak Lord's neck. Not a lethal blow. A splice. Karma Stitching activated, tearing a fragment of destiny from the man's bloodline while his golden core was compromised.
Feng Du gasped. In the darkness, it sounded like surprise. No one saw Alex. No one sensed him. The moment the splice was complete—0.8 seconds—he was gone.
The lights returned. Nebula was back in inventory. Feng Du stood, wine cup shattered in his hand, staring at nothing. The banquet resumed, but the Peak Lord's laughter was forced now. He felt lesser, though he couldn't name what he'd lost.
Alex returned to his quarters, his hand burning with stolen karma. The system processed the fragment:
[Karma Fragment: Death Peak Bloodline (Minor)]
**[Effects: Can bypass 40% of Death Peak's formations. Can sense Death Peak cultivators' locations.]}
[Warning: Bloodline owner actively searching for thief. Concealment protocol: CRITICAL]
Perfect.
That night, he returned to the Dead Caverns. Alone. Xianling had offered to come, but this was between him and the prisoner.
The entity waited in its crystal chamber, sensing his approach. "You have it?"
"I have something better." Alex held up his hand, the karma fragment glowing like a crimson thread. "The bloodline anchor. Sever this, and the entire seal unravels. Not just yours—all of them. Every prisoner the Death Peak has taken."
The entity went still. "You would free them all? The mad, the broken, the murderous?"
"I would give them choice." Alex's three-soul voice echoed in the cavern. "Stay and rot, or serve a new purpose."
A sound like weeping, or perhaps laughter. "Serve you, you mean."
"Serve purpose." Alex set the soul cage on the ground. "I won't lie to you. I'm building an army of the forgotten. You can be its first general, or you can be its first meal. Choose."
The entity stared at the karma thread. "What is your name, anomaly?"
"Alex."
"No family name?"
"None that matters anymore."
The entity seemed to smile. "I am... was... Yarrow. Soul Formation Perfection, Peak Lord of the Astral Tower, before this sect's founder betrayed me." It reached out with a hand of twisted light. "I choose service. But know this: If you prove weaker than your ambition, I will devour you from within."
"Fair."
Alex severed the karma thread. The entire Death Peak trembled. Alarms blared. And in the Dead Caverns, seals cracked like eggshells.
Yarrow's essence flowed into the soul cage, not as a prisoner, but as a resident. The system acknowledged the pact:
[Soul Formation Companion Acquired: Yarrow (Fragmented)]
[Caution: Loyalty at 15%. Feed with knowledge and power to increase.]
[Warning: Death Peak seals destabilizing. Host has 7 minutes before detection.]
Alex Void Stepped out of the caverns as the first hunters arrived. He appeared in his quarters exactly as the alarm reached the outer courtyard. Disciples panicked. Elders flew overhead on swords. Chaos.
In his room, Alex poured tea for three. Nebula curled in his lap, purring. Yarrow's voice whispered from the soul cage, which now looked like a simple lantern on his desk.
"The Peak Lord knows something was taken, but not what. He'll blame the void beast."
"Let him." Alex sipped his tea, watching the mayhem through his window. "Tomorrow, he'll announce a hunt. Every inner disciple will volunteer for glory. And we'll be the first to sign up."
Xianling manifested in his room, her expression impressed despite herself. "You didn't just steal blood. You stole karma. That's... not a technique that exists in this era."
"It does now." Alex set down his cup. "The question is, Seraphine: Are you signing up for the hunt?"
She stared at the lantern containing Yarrow, at the wyrmling on his lap, at the boy who held galaxies in his eyes.
"Yes," she said softly. "But not for the hunt. For whatever comes after."
[Chapter 4 Complete]
[System Evolution Progress: 7/10]
[Destiny Points: 42]
[Golden Core Perfection: 91%]
[New Companion: Yarrow (Soul Formation Fragment)]
[Current Threat Level: SECT-WIDE MANHUNT (Avoided)]
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[END OF CHAPTER 5]
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